Reversible roundabout toy



1953 E. MATREJEK REVERSIBLE ROUNDABOUT TOY Filed Dec. 17, 1948 IN VEN TOR.

1 MW e ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 10, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE REVERSIBLE ROUNDABOUT TOY Eugene Matrejek, Newark, N. J.

Application December 17, 1948, Serial No. 65,850

2 Claims. 1

My invention relates generally to toys, and specifically to centrifugally and gravitationally operated toys.

It is an object of my invention to provide a toy which is operated, on reversal, by the cooperation of gravitational and centrifugal force.

It is yet another object of my invention to provide a toy which presents a plurality of aeroplanes in simulated flight.

Yet a further object of my invention is to present a device which is readily operated by a child without the device having its parts entangled and thereby made inoperative.

Still further objects of my invention are to produce a toy which is simple in form, easy and inexpensive to construct, yet durable and attractive in operation.

These objects and advantages, as well as others are achieved by the device illustrated in the drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is an elevational view showing my toy;

Figure 2 is a cross-section taken on the line 2-2 in Figure l and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 3 is a view showing the conjunction of a suspension rod and the runner; and

Figure 4 is a view of the positioning member unattached.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, my invention provides an upright spindle H. This spindle is formed of two wires l2 which are wound about each other in one direction. At the midpoint 13 of the spindle, the direction of winding is reversed.

Each end of the spindle H is inserted in a handle Id. The spindle carries a circular runner I5 with a central non-circular orifice [6 which engages th spiral of the spindle ll.

At the edge of the circular runner iii, a series of holes I! are formed. Suspension rods I8 with a circular loop 19 formed at one end are passed through each of the holes H. The other ends of the rods i8 are attached to miniature aeroplanes 20.

When the runner I5 is at the top of the spindle H, and the spindle H is held upright by the lower handle M, the runner l5 will rotate and the aeroplanes 20 will fly outward centrifugally in simulated flight. At the mid-point IS, the direction of flight will be reversed and will continue until the runner [5 reaches the lower handle [4. The upper handle [4 may then be grasped and the device reversed, whereupon the movement of the runner l5 from top to bottom again proceeds.

It is to be noted that in the reversal of the spindle H, the tendency of the aeroplanes 20 might be, in some instances, to fall toward the spindle, in which case, rotation would not commence. This is, however, prevented by the positioning member 2| which has a semi-circular portion 22 and an attaching lug 23. The ends of the semi-circular portion 22 are so proportioned as not to permit the suspension rods [8 to form an angle less than approximately with the spindle H. In this way, the aeroplanes 20 can never be disposed centerward in contact with the spindle H. They can never be disposed at an angle of less than 110, therefore, rotation is always free to commence. The ends 24 bear on the runner I5, whereby regardless of the manner of reversing the handles 14, the aeroplanes 20 are always extended away from the spindle I l. The angle indicated by the are 25 will be approximately 110.

The foregoin is intended as an embodiment illustrating one form of my invention. Many changes may be made in the construction, selection and arrangement of the various parts, all within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. A reversible roundabout toy comprising a spiral spindle, handles attached to each end of th spindle, a disc-runner on the spindle having a central orifice in engagement with the spirals of the spindle, a plurality of suspension rods, a loop formed on one end of each of the suspension rods and engaged with marginal holes in the disc-- runner, a positioning member attached to the top of each rod adjacent to the loop and having arcuate arms extending upwardly therefrom and mounted for alternat radial engagement with either side of the runner upon reversal of the spindle whereby the inward pivoting of the suspension rods is restricted to an obtuse angle with respect to the runner.

2. A reversible roundabout toy comprising a spiral spindle, handles attached to each end of the spindle, a disc-runner on the spindle having a central orifice in engagement with the spirals of the spindle, a plurality of suspension rods, a loop formed on one end of each of the suspension rods and engaged with marginal holes in the disc-runner, a positioning member attached to the top of each rod adjacent to the loop and having arcuate arms extending upwardly therefrom and mounted for alternate radial engagement with either side of the runner upon reversal of the spindle whereby the inward pivoting of the suspension rods is restricted to an obtus angle with respect to the runner and aircraft attached to the other end of each suspension rod.

EUGENE MATREJEK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 560,728 Luckenbach May 26, 1896 1,393,120 Heck Oct. 11, 1921 1,435,845 Hobbs Nov. 14, 1922 1,523,431 Koelliker et a1 Jan. 20, 1925 1,722,922 Johnson July 30, 1929 1,811,056 Long June 23, 1931 

